An East Anglian manufacturer which has worked on equipment for Robbie Williams and Disney says it has chopped its waste in half by retraining staff.

Warren Services, which has previously built a 60ft robot for band Take That, brought in external expertise to cut the level of waste produced at its Thetford factory, where it specialises in machining, welding and fabrication.

The company worked with the manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP) to examine its quality control procedures and was able to make an initial saving of £50,000 by providing new guidance to its 94-strong workforce.

Estee Ross, HR manager at Warren Services, said the company had had to face up to its issues with waste which led it to look for outside help. She said: “The previous mindset of ‘we’ve always done it like that’ has now been replaced by employees questioning ‘why do we do it like that?’ and coming up with ways for us to improve.”

Working alongside Warren Services, a six-week employee plan was created to suit the needs of the business and then delivered in-house to staff.

MGP manufacturing growth manager Chris George said: “It took a little while to get full buy-in, but we were confident that over time they would see the value in the support and the company are now seeing the financial benefits and in the amount of time saved. We are now working towards ensuring that all members of staff undertake the upskilling and this is something we hope to have completed during the next few months.”

MGP, which is funded by the European Union, provided data analysis and training which the firm said had changed the culture of the business.

Mrs Ross said: “Since the implementation of the scheme the business has seen waste fall by a massive 50%, bringing with it a saving of more than £50,000 and that’s just the start. The cost savings once all staff are fully supported could be endless, given the varied areas of the business that can be improved. Going forward, we think more than £200,000 is possible.”

Warren Services has secured new contracts for the automotive, engineering and food sector for companies including Multimatic, Ishida, Hexcel, Stage Technologies and Sapphire Balconies.